• Gmak
    7


    Simple, a super ultra intelligent great being is needed to manage the world.
  • Relativist
    2.6k
    I do not believe the universe is a purposeless accidental event.prothero
    Can you make a case for your belief, or is it an article of faith?
  • kindred
    138


    In my view the universe displays signs of intelligence through its beings which would imply intrinsic intelligence embedded within it from the start, probably pointing towards a creator God. As to his reasons or motivations for creating, they cannot be inferred without resorting to scriptures.
  • Relativist
    2.6k
    In my view the universe displays signs of intelligence through its beings which would imply intrinsic intelligence embedded within it from the start,kindred
    Are you saying the "signs of intelligence" in the universe are...us?

    Either way, how does that imply "intrinsic intelligence" embedded in the universe?

    The gradual development of intelligent beings, somewhere in an old, vast universe seems much more plausible than an intelligence just happening to exist, uncaused and without a prior history of development.

    As to his reasons or motivations for creating, they cannot be inferred without resorting to scriptures.kindred
    So...the writers of scripture (2K+ years ago) were able to figure this out, but we can't.
  • kindred
    138
    Are you saying the "signs of intelligence" in the universe are...us?Relativist

    Not just us but all life forms show intelligent processes in them such as plants through photosynthesis.

    The gradual development of intelligent beings, somewhere in an old, vast universe seems much more plausible than an intelligence just happening to exist, uncaused and without a prior history of development.Relativist

    My view of intelligence is that it has always existed and what we observe in nature and us is just it manifesting itself. So it precedes us.

    So...the writers of scripture (2K+ years ago) were able to figure this out, but we can't.Relativist

    I don’t believe in scripture too much and much of it was speculation as to the reasons behind creation or motives of the creator.
  • Relativist
    2.6k
    My view of intelligence is that it has always existed and what we observe in nature and us is just it manifesting itself. So it precedes us.kindred
    This thread is about "proving" God. I hope you can see that you're not doing that. I'm fine with people having faith-based beliefs, but they shouldn't fool themselves into thinking it's based in reason.
  • kindred
    138


    My beliefs are based on observation of the natural world which as I’ve stated before shows signs of intelligence, design whatever you wanna call it. This to me constitutes evidence of God.

    The non god alternative is that these manifestations of intelligence occurred through dumb luck, which is not possible. It’s like 10,000 monkeys randomly typing on a keyboard and creating the complete works of Shakespeare. Just not possible.
  • 180 Proof
    15.4k
    My beliefs are based on observation of the natural world which as I’ve stated before shows signs of intelligence, design whatever you wanna call it. This to me constitutes evidence of God.kindred
    Compositional fallacy —> (believer's) confirmation bias. Also: your "creator deity / intelligent design" belief, sir, is refuted by the argument from poor design.

    Just not possible.
    How do you/we know this?
  • kindred
    138


    Whether the design is poor or optimal is irrelevant, the point is to prove that there is (any) design, which would lead to a designer. If there was no design in nature there would just be primordial matter and nothing else but the fact that nature for example is able to invent/evolve such processes as photosynthesis shows intelligence in action and the tell tale signs of on overarching intelligence in action such as that of a God.

    When looking at natures inventiveness/evolution at problem solving and coming up with solutions to environmental requirements this exhibits intelligence, no? What is it that is happening then ? Evolution, yes? Of course, yet why are there these types of interactions occurring here in the first place?

    How do you/we know this?180 Proof

    Well do you hold the idea that 10,000 monkeys could write the completed works of Shakespeare through random chance, what logic would you use to support this idea?
  • Relativist
    2.6k
    My beliefs are based on observation of the natural world which as I’ve stated before shows signs of intelligence, design whatever you wanna call it. This to me constitutes evidence of God.kindred
    There is no evidence that entails God.

    Your observations of the world are seen through the prism of your belief in God. The signs you see of intelligence are explainable by natural means. If you haven't given serious consideration to the alternative, you haven't "proven" anything - you've just rationalize what you believe.

    The non god alternative is that these manifestations of intelligence occurred through dumb luck, which is not possible.kindred
    What occurs, including what comes to exist, could very well be the product of chance. We exist as a consequence of the way the world happens to be. If it is actually possible for the world to have differred, other sorts of things might have existed. How does low probability consequence imply luck? Luck generally entails a contestant happening to be the beneficiary of chance. There is no set of contestants who participated in a contest to pick a winner. You could conjecture that our existence is low probability, but that gets you nowhere- low probability things happen all the time.

    If you think intelligence is something special that requires design to produce it, then how do you account for an intelligent creator to produce the design? That's why I previously pointed out that it seems much more likely that intelligence is the product of chance events in a universe of vast size and age, rather than just happening to exist in an uncaused being (a "god"). So this line of reasoning seems self-defeating.
  • kindred
    138
    What occurs, including what comes to exist, could very well be the product of chance. We exist as a consequence of the way the world happens to be. If it is actually possible for the world to have differred, other sorts of things might have existed.Relativist

    So you think processes such as cell replication or photosynthesis come to be by pure chance? A designer would have better explanatory power here. Labelling it as evolution does not rule out god because they set the laws that govern and allow evolution to take place. Without a designer matter would just remain stagnant and nothing would have happened or emerged, no life and certainly no intelligence. Again you might say well it’s just biochemistry and matter will interact with other matter or its environment to create different processes given the right environmental conditions but again I ask you why has it produced something useful like a plant alongside the innate rock? There are many factors which need to combine to create even the simplest life and although they could have come to be through chance to me it implies that there are intelligent rules or laws which enables such life to form.

    then how do you account for an intelligent creator to produce the design?Relativist

    Existence is eternal therefore it’s possible that such a being could have emerged with capabilities to express his will through his creation as he sees fit. Or another explanation which you might not like is that such a being has always existed and is uncreated.
  • 180 Proof
    15.4k
    You made the claim so you have the burden of proof. Believe whatever you fancy, sir – apparently, you don't understand the argument from poor design. or why your "belief" is fallacious as I've pointed out .
  • Relativist
    2.6k
    So you think processes such as cell replication or photosynthesis come to be by pure chance? A designer would have better explanatory power here.kindred
    So you think intelligence, and knowledge just happens to exist uncaused?

    To your question: entropy is a measure of the number of different ways that a set of objects can be arranged. One of the ways fundamental particles can be arranged is in the configuration of a self-replicating molecule. That is sufficient to start evolution. It is very low probability that this would occur by pure chance in any one suitable event, but in a vast, old, universe - it becomes likely to occur at least once. Evolution has all the explanatory power needed to explain everything that life develops into.

    Without a designer matter would just remain stagnant and nothing would have happened or emerged, no life and certainly no intelligence.kindred
    Whatever gives you that silly idea? It's clear the universe evolves per laws of nature, and it's
    reasonable to view these as part of the fabric of reality.

    why has it produced something useful like a plant alongside the innate rock?kindred
    As I said, because it's possible - and sufficiently probable to occur at least once in a vast, old universe in which a enormous number of (individually) improbable things occur.

    There are many factors which need to combine to create even the simplest life and although they could have come to be through chance to me it implies that there are intelligent rules or laws which enables such life to form.kindred
    Non-sequitur. The probability is extremely low in any specific time or place, but again- a vast, old universe provides a sufficient number of chances for it to occur at least once.

    Existence is eternal therefore it’s possible that such a being could have emerged with capabilities to express his will through his creation as he sees fit. ...kindred
    Emerged from what? You claim the conditions needed for intelligence to emerge in the universe imply an intelligence behind it. So you'd have to assume the same thing for a God-like intelligence to emerge- thus an vicious, infinite regress.
    Or another explanation which you might not like is that such a being has always existed and is uncreated.
    Explain how this is more plausible than intelligence gradually emerging. It entails magical knowledge- knowing without a process of developing knowledge.
  • PoeticUniverse
    1.3k
    So you think processes such as cell replication or photosynthesis come to be by pure chance?kindred

    'Pure chance' is not the scientific alternative to Intelligent Design:

  • jorndoe
    3.7k
    The non god alternative is that these manifestations of intelligence occurred through dumb luck, which is not possible. It’s like 10,000 monkeys randomly typing on a keyboard and creating the complete works of Shakespeare. Just not possible.kindred

    In terms of probability, it's as unlikely as any other character sequence of that length.
    Equally unlikely, equally possible.
    By the way, something similar applies to other (long) event sequences.
    Favoritism looks like bias.
  • kindred
    138


    I’m not denying evolution or entropy nor how life came to be through such processes but they happen because the laws of nature allow evolution to occur by enabling organisms to adapt to their environment.

    The point is none of these interactions that created life could occur if there were not some laws of biochemistry or physics that dictate how particles interact with each other to give rise to abundant complexity. Without these interactions there would no life and it’s precisely these laws of nature which need explanation not just the end result (life) whilst the latter can be explained by pure chance the former would need an explanation of where these laws came from.

    It makes sense then to attribute intelligent laws to an intelligent agent or lawmaker hence my argument.
  • Relativist
    2.6k
    It makes sense then to attribute intelligent laws to an intelligent agent or lawmaker hence my argument.kindred
    It makes sense to you because you believe God created everything. Here's a more general metaphysical perspective.

    Unless one accepts an infinite series of causes, there is a first cause - that exists without explanation. This could be a God, but it could also be an initial state of material reality. There's no objective basis to exempt God from requiring an explanation while insisting a natural first cause requires one.

    A natural first-cause would be comprised of the fundamental material of reality (physicists think quantum fields may be the fundamental material, but it doesn't matter to the metaphysical analysis). Natural laws would be part of the fabric of this fundamental material, and would be the ultimate ground of all laws that we see manifested.

    So the question is: which is more plausible? A being of infinite complexity, with magical knowledge of everything it could do and it's consequences OR a natural state of affairs that evolves due to its internal characteristics? Each is uncaused and exists without deeper explanation. Which is the more parsimonious, and thus better, explanation?
  • NotAristotle
    386
    Here is an argument for the existence of God:

    1. If anything exists, then there must be something that exists.
    2. If something depends on another for its existence and the second thing exists, then so must the first.
    3. If everything depended on another for its existence, then nothing would exist.
    4. Therefore, if anything exists, and there exist things that depend on another for their existence, or not, there must exist something that does not depend on another for its existence.
    5. Consequently, if anything exists, there must exist something that does not depend on another.
    6. Something does exist.
    7. So, there must exist something that does not depend on another.

    Note: this argument is similar to the "argument from being" formulated by Norman Geisler.
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